All for just £25: the remarkable homebred who swept to Champion Hurdle glory
The When Horses Raced feature on Make A Stand, which appeared in Thursday's Racing Post, brought back both good and bad memories. Good, because the piece was a reminder of the genius of trainer Martin Pipe. Bad, because I backed Space Trucker in the Champion Hurdle Make A Stand won.
I think I've got over it now, though, and Make A Stand's 1997 success conjured up memories of another Champion Hurdle winner of the 1990s who raced a lot: Flakey Dove.
The Richard Price-trained mare ran eight times over hurdles in the 1993-94 season before her victory in March, and three times after it, but before we come to her feats on the track the homebred's back story is well worth telling and I'm indebted to Michael Tanner and his excellent book, The Champion Hurdle 1927-2002, for filling in the details.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inAnother View
Last updated
Copy- An emotional day as I finally get to meet the mighty Frankel - a decade later than planned
- No Frankie Dettori at Royal Ascot - but more should be done to promote another of the sport's stars
- I went racing in Tokyo for the Japanese Derby - here's how it beats the raceday experience in Britain
- 'I promise you we're going to be 50-50' - is Josephine Gordon's dream of true gender equality getting closer?
- The Irish Derby has become a cringing embarrassment and City Of Troy decision is the latest body blow
- An emotional day as I finally get to meet the mighty Frankel - a decade later than planned
- No Frankie Dettori at Royal Ascot - but more should be done to promote another of the sport's stars
- I went racing in Tokyo for the Japanese Derby - here's how it beats the raceday experience in Britain
- 'I promise you we're going to be 50-50' - is Josephine Gordon's dream of true gender equality getting closer?
- The Irish Derby has become a cringing embarrassment and City Of Troy decision is the latest body blow